Fraud, consipracy on the menu
Bribers, recipients could face federal charges in probe
Posted: Thursday January 28, 1999 11:59 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If the evidence supports their current theory
of the Salt Lake City Olympic scandal, federal investigators could charge both bribers and recipients of under-the-table payments,
officials say.
Mail and wire fraud, conspiracy and travel in aid of
racketeering are among the charges that might be used to prosecute
what federal investigators initially see as a case of commercial
bribery, rather than the more familiar government variety, the
Justice Department officials said Wednesday.
Normally, the Justice Department lets private parties resolve
commercial bribery cases through civil lawsuits rather than
bringing federal criminal charges. The exception is when a federal
interest is involved, such as the integrity of the Olympic Games.
The racketeering law prohibits interstate and foreign travel to
further federal or state crimes like bribery and extortion or to
distribute their illicit proceeds. It could be used against both
bribe givers and takers.
Also under study are tax, currency transfer and foreign bribery
statutes that might provide additional charges, according to these
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But the federal probe is in a very early stage, months from
major decisions about what charges to bring or even whether to file
charges.
Federal agents are still trying to understand the records
subpoenaed from Salt Lake City's Olympic bid committee. Stephanie
Pate, one-time secretary of former bid committee head Tom Welch,
has been meeting with agents this month.
Four members of the International Olympic Committee have
resigned over the scandal. One of them, Kenya's Charles Mukora, who
resigned Wednesday, was among six members the IOC said Sunday it
would expel next month. Others are under investigation.
The IOC said Salt Lake City's 2002 bid committee spent $800,000 on 14 IOC members, including travel expenses, scholarships
for their children and cash payments.
The basic case under investigation is whether Salt Lake'
committee bribed IOC members to win the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Federal mail and wire fraud charges could be brought if someone
used the mail or telephones to "defraud the International Olympic
Committee of the honest services of its members," a Justice
official said.
Any Olympic decision-maker who took a bribe also could be
vulnerable to mail or wire fraud charges for defrauding the
international panel of his or her honest service -- honest service
meaning a vote for a site based on its merits rather than on
under-the-table payments, this official said.
If more than one person were involved, then prosecutors could
charge a conspiracy to defraud the Olympic Committee.
If evidence showed illicit payments were the product of pressure
on Salt Lake representatives from the Olympic decision-makers, then
the recipients could be charged with extortion.
USA Today reported Thursday that the Justice Department is
trying to determine whether a Salt Lake Olympic official carried
about $50,000 to Budapest, Hungary, in 1995 when the 2002
Winter Games were awarded.
The newspaper said FBI agents interviewed former Salt Lake City
Councilman Tom Godfrey, who has said the official was a staff
member of the Salt Lake Olympic bid committee. Godfrey was a member
of the delegation that traveled to Budapest.
Investigators also are looking into whether the Salt Lake panel
violated its tax-exempt status or if any recipients failed to
report payments on which U.S. taxes were due.
But such charges are considered longer shots at this point.
Treasury agents are focusing on whether Olympic Committee members
violated requirements to report carrying cash out of the country,
officials said.
Justice Department officials familiar with the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act are still being briefed on the evidence gathered, but
that act applies only to bribes paid by U.S. citizens to foreign
officials to influence actions of their government. Some foreign
officials serve on the Olympic Committee, but it is a private
organization.
Finally, prosecutors must till weigh whether federal or state
charges would be the most likely to succeed.
In another development, The New York Times reported Thursday
that the United States Olympic Committee is exploring ideas about
the restructuring of the IOC, including recommendations for term
limits and democratic elections by outsiders.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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